Seminole County has a tax collector problem.

The previous tax collector was using his position to enrich himself, and the new one was expecting a courtesy pass for a speeding ticket.

Seminole County Tax collector asks for a courtesy pass on a speeding ticket.


Seminole Tax Collector Joel Greenberg asks for 'professional courtesy' after ticketed for speeding

Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg asked a Lake Mary Police officer for “professional courtesy” because he is an elected official as he tried to talk his way out of a ticket after he was pulled over for speeding Tuesday.

“I’m baffled that the professional courtesy is not being extended to at least issue a warning in something like this,” Greenberg can be heard on a police video telling a Lake Mary officer after he was issued a citation for traveling 39 mph in a 25 mph zone. “If there’s any way on earth — I’m just trying to stay off the front page of the damn newspaper: ‘Tax collector gets ticket.’ This is the kind of political crap I have to deal with.”

The incident comes after Greenberg turned on white flashing lights on his SUV and followed a Sanford woman to the front of her subdivision Dec. 13, 2017, to tell her to stop speeding while wearing his office badge. A prosecutor’s report found his actions “inappropriate” but said he didn’t break the law.

On Wednesday, Greenberg, who was a political newcomer when he was elected in November 2016 after earlier ousting longtime tax collector Ray Valdes in the GOP primary, admitted he was speeding and will pay the $206 fine.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-tax-collector-joel-greenberg-speeding-ticket-20180124-story.html



This is info for the previous tax collector:

Public Corruption Charges Coming For Seminole County Tax Collector Ray Valdes?

For nearly 30 years, Seminole County residents have had Ray Valdes as their tax collector. Since his first year in office, Mr. Valdes' net worth has increased from just around $150,000 to nearly $3 million dollars, according to publicly available financial disclosure documents.

After receiving several troubling tips from concerned Seminole County residents, we have discovered just how Mr. Valdes has padded his bank account, using his inside knowledge of tax deeds and claims his office auctions to the public.

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Valdes Uses Aliases & Several Companies To Purchase Tax Deeds

Joseph Raymond Valdes, J. Raymond Valdes, Raymond Valdes, Joseph R. Valdes are some of the aliases Mr. Valdes has used to purchase tax deeds from the very office and auctions he oversees. Additionally, Mr. Valdes has allegedly used his company Bravados Enterprises Inc. and Conservation Enterprises Trust, LLC to purchase just over 100 properties during his tenure.

Tax certificates allow an investor to purchase the owed taxes on a property, and then if the property owner can't pay back the taxes owed, plus interest, Valdes and his associates submit for a tax deed which allows them to foreclose on the properties.

Yes, you read that right, the Seminole County Tax Collector is using his inside knowledge of tax deeds the system to profit on the backs of homeowners who are underwater during tough economic times.


http://seminolecountypost.com/public-corruption-charges-coming-seminole-county-tax-collector-ray-valdes